ALL’s ‘Instructor of the Year’ Honored to Share Love of Art with Fellow Seniors

Published on: August 31, 2012

The Academy for Lifelong Learning (ALL) at Lone Star College-Montgomery recently honored Joe Christoffel with the organization’s 2012 Instructor of the Year award. Christoffel teaches various ALL art history courses at LSC-Montgomery.

“To be named Instructor of the Year is a distinct honor,” said Christoffel, who has been teaching since 2006. “It’s a hobby I enjoy—researching. It’s all the more gratifying that I can share this hobby, this love of art with fellow seniors.”

The ALL program at LSC-Montgomery is a membership organization for active, older adults to inspire intellectual and personal growth. The group participates in various lectures, social activities, day trips, and more—all facilitated by volunteer instructors, college professors, and subject matter experts from the community.

“ALL has an incredible group of instructors, like Christoffel, who volunteer their time and expertise to facilitate seminars and give lectures,” said Donna Smith Burns, program coordinator for ALL at LSC-Montgomery. “The instructors come from many different backgrounds, and we benefit from their knowledge and enthusiasm.”

Christoffel brings a world of expertise to his art history classes from his 10-year career as a docent at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH). Before that, he served as a docent with the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) for three years.

“My formal training by CMA and MFAH, along with the numerous museums I’ve visited here and abroad have helped me develop a better understanding of art and art history,” said Christoffel. “Plus the rigorous art appreciation and art history courses I took at the college were highly beneficial.”

Christoffel completed several credit art history and art appreciation classes at LSC-Montgomery. Additionally, he’s an ALL student, taking courses on subjects like movies, history, the environment, Italian language, Photoshop, and more.

“I believe the ALL program provides a means to broaden our understanding of variety of topics,” said Christoffel. “The courses stimulate new ideas and entertain us—all at an unbelievably low price, especially considering the work of the many volunteers who teach and administer the program.”

This fall, Christoffel is teaching Topics in Art History: Architecture, Antiquity—Mid 1700s, a three-session course on the architecture of the late Stone Age through the Baroque period. Additionally, he’s teaching a one-session course on the mural restoration of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper.

LSC-Montgomery is located at 3200 College Park Drive, one-half mile west of Interstate 45, between Conroe and The Woodlands. For more information about the college, call 936.273.7000, or visit www.LoneStar.edu/montgomery.

With 75,000 students in credit classes, and a total enrollment of more than 90,000, Lone Star College System is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area, and the fastest-growing community college system in Texas. Dr. Richard Carpenter is the chancellor of LSCS, which consists of six colleges including LSC-CyFair, LSC-Kingwood, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, LSC-Tomball, and LSC-University Park, five centers, LSC-University Center at Montgomery, LSC-University Center at University Park, Lone Star Corporate College, and LSC-Online. To learn more visit LoneStar.edu.